Airports: Heathrow

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the hours worked by staff of the Health Protection Agency at Heathrow Airport.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Health Protection Agency is responsible for both health protection and medical inspection services at Heathrow Airport. It is currently reviewing how these are provided, and no decisions have been taken yet.

Alcohol

Lord Chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have conducted into the correlation between the cost of alcohol and the rate of consumption.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department commissioned an independent review on the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield. The phase one systematic review of the evidence and phase two Independent Review of the Effects of Alcohol Pricing and Promotion were published in full in December 2008.
	Full details of the review and a copy of the publication are available on the Department's website at www.dh. gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthimprovement/Alcoholmisuse/DH_4001740.
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

Alcohol

Lord Chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there has been an increase in alcohol-related liver problems in people aged 13 to 18 since 1997.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Information on prevalence of alcohol-related liver problems among people aged 13 to 18 is not available. However, information on the number of hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease for people aged 13 to 18 is available.
	The table below provides the number of admissions to hospital of patients aged 13 to 18 with a primary or secondary diagnosis for alcoholic liver disease and uses the ICD-10 codes K70, K73 and K74, which are the codes for liver disease that is wholly or partially attributable to alcohol. Estimates are not available for years prior to 2002-03 and 2007-08 is the latest year for which information is available. This table suggests that there has been a rise in alcohol-related liver problems in people aged 13 to 18 during this period.
	
		
			 Year Number of hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease, 13 to 18 year-olds 
			 2002-03 45 
			 2003-04 54 
			 2004-05 63 
			 2005-06 59 
			 2006-07 59 
			 2007-08 79 
		
	
	Footnotes:
	Data represent activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.
	Alcohol-related admissions.
	The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) Alcohol attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions. Figures for under-16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under-16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol - that is, those with an attributable fraction of one.
	The ICD-10 codes used to answer this PQ are K70, K73 and K74, which are the codes for liver disease that is wholly or partially attributable to alcohol. K70 has an attributable fraction of one, K73 and K74 have an overall attributable fraction of 0.73 for males and 0.50 for females.
	Number of patients who had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis.
	These figures represent the number of patients where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.
	Ungrossed data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Primary diagnosis
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 200203) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.
	Secondary diagnosis
	As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2007-08 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.
	Data quality
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
	Assessing growth through time
	HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series.
	Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity.
	Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.
	Assignment of Episodes to Years
	Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.
	Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for Health & Social Care

Armed Forces: Women Pilots

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women are qualified to pilot combat jets in the Royal Navy or the Royal Air Force; how many are qualified to pilot other fixed-wing aircraft; how many are qualified to pilot rotary-wing aircraft; and how many are qualified to fly as aircrew in each of those categories.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The following tables give the number of women who are currently qualified as either pilot or non-pilot aircrew in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.
	
		
			 Qualified Pilots (Female) 
			 Service Fast Jet Fixed Wing Aircraft Rotary Wing 
			 Royal Air Force 12 22 24 
			 Royal Navy 1 1 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Non-pilot Aircrew (Female) 
			 Service Fast Jet Fixed Wing Aircraft Rotary Wing 
			 Royal Air Force 21 57 12 
			 Royal Navy 0 20

Audit Commission

Lord Stevens of Ludgate: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the costs of setting and printing all reports of the Audit Commission in the latest year for which figures are available; how many people are on the commission's distribution list; and how often the list is reviewed.

Baroness Andrews: In 2008-09, publications by the Audit Commission for distribution outside the commission cost £212,570 to design and print (these costs include proofreading, language and Braille translation). The commission has 60,000 entries on its database for the distribution of reports and distribution lists are adjusted and reviewed for each publication. The average distribution for a national report is 2,281.

Autism

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether prison programmes or procedures are in place to assess prisoners with communication difficulties; whether there are prison programmes or procedures to identify those who may be on the autism spectrum; and what are the contents of such programmes.

Lord Darzi of Denham: There are no specific departmental national programmes to assess and identify people in prison with communication difficulties. This is a Prison Service responsibility in line with their Disability Discrimination Act policy.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMs) Prison Service Order (PSO) 3050 looks at managing continuity of healthcare for prisoners and emphasises the importance of continuity in the success of clinical interventions and treatment. PSO 2855 Prisoners with Disabilities gives guidance on the management of prisoners with disabilities of which autism is referenced.

Autism

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government which prisons have full-time specialists employed to provide services for prisoners on the autism spectrum; and what services are provided by such specialists.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department does not hold information on the services provided for prisoners on the autism spectrum. This is a Prison Service responsibility in line with their Disability Discrimination Act policy.

Banking

Baroness Noakes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they accept the decision by the Office for National Statistics announced on 19 February 2009 to classify the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group as public corporations; and, if so, why Lord Myners said on 20 April that "the UK banks in which the public, through the Government and UKFI, have significant shareholdings remain in the private sector" (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 1259).

Lord Myners: Decisions on the statistical classification of organisations are a matter for the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). These decisions are consistent with international guidelines on national accounts and make allowance for control as well as ownership. The Government fully accept the decision on the public finances made by the ONS, but are not thereby bound to treat the organisations as if they were nationalised industries.
	The Government own 70 per cent of the voting shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and 43.5 per cent (which may increase to 65 per cent) in Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds), as a consequence of the recapitalisation scheme and the conversion of the preference shares. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made clear that both institutions will remain in the private sector. Pension funds and private investors may continue to invest in RBS and Lloyds. The companies will be run to the benefit of all shareholders and will have independent boards.
	The Government will not be a permanent investor in UK financial institutions. It will over time seek to dispose of the investments in an orderly way, through sale, redemption, buy-back or other means, in accordance with UKFI's objectives, which are to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder with due regard to the maintenance of financial stability.

Banking: Loan Guarantee Scheme

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether loans made by banks under the small firms loans guarantee scheme and the recently announced loan scheme must have matching funds provided by the firms.

Baroness Vadera: Neither the small firms loan guarantee nor the enterprise finance guarantee, which replaced SFLG in January, requires borrowers to provide match funding. These are straightforward loan arrangements between a borrower and a lender. Lenders may require business to offer security in respect of a loan offered.

British Coal Compensation

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the decision by the Legal Complaints Service, the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society of England and Wales, promulgated on 20 April, to again suspend investigation into the complaints of retired miners and widows concerning the handling of their cases under the British Coal Respiratory Disease Litigation and British Coal Vibration White Finger Litigation by Raleys Solicitors; and, if so, whether they have any plans to meet the Board of the Legal Complaints Service to discuss such matters.

Lord Bach: We understand from the Legal Complaints Service that a decision was taken that from 1 April 2009 all complaints against Raleys Solicitors, either already in the office or received after that date, would be suspended to await confirmation of the intention of Raleys with regard to any appeal against previous Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal adjudications.
	Ministers will be meeting the Legal Complaints Service and the Solicitors Regulation Authority in June to review their progress on this important issue. Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Energy and Climate Change continue to support the Legal Complaints Service in their programme to highlight the issue with coal health compensation claimants.

Connecting Communities Plus

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations were in receipt of funds through the Connecting Communities Plus Programme in each of the last three years; and how much they received.

Baroness Andrews: From April 2006 to March 2009 a total of 393 organisations were funded through the Connecting Communities Grants programme. Three different types of grants were paid.
	Strategic partners: paid to national level voluntary organisations. In all, 11 organisations were funded for three years. A total of £4,306,816.00 was paid to the strategic partners from 2006-2009.
	Project grants: paid to voluntary organisations to deliver outcomes set out in the Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society strategy. In all, 68 projects were funded over three years. A total of £10,519,235 was paid to the project partners from 2006-09.
	Community grants were flexible grants to voluntary and community organisations. They were one-off grants of up to £12,000. Three rounds of funding were held; one in each year of the programme. The number of organisations funded and the total amount paid in each year were as follows:
	year one—£1,313,426.49 paid to 138 organisations;year two—£987,691.04 paid to 108 organisations; andyear three—£663,441.26 paid to 68 organisations.
	A total of £17,835,609.79 million was paid to grant recipients through the scheme. A full list of organisations funded and the total amount paid has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, where public access points to Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 access land are via gaps, gates or styles in fences and walls or other barriers along the boundary of such land, they will request the Ordnance Survey to include the location of such access points on the 1:25 000 series of Explorer and Outdoor Leisure maps.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Detailed discussions were held with Ordnance Survey and other bodies, including the Countryside Agency (now Natural England), the Local Government Association and the National Park Authorities, in 2004 and 2005, about whether access points could be added to the OS Explorer Maps which show areas of access land mapped under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The conclusion reached from these discussions was that access points to access land should not be shown on the maps because it was considered that most of the access points were sufficiently clear (roads, rights of way, paths, tracks and at car parks) and that adding access points might also add some unnecessary clutter to these maps.

Cyprus: Property

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 6 May (WA 123), whether the European Court of Justice ruling in the Oram case is applicable to property owners in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus other than British citizens; whether the ruling is reciprocal in respect of Turkish-Cypriot property in the south of Cyprus; and whether they have sought clarification on the issue.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The European Court of Justice judgment in case C-420/07 concerns the interpretation of certain aspects of Council Regulation (EC) No.44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The ruling confirmed the applicability of the regulation to judgments of the courts of the Republic of Cyprus given in respect of property in northern Cyprus. The regulation is therefore potentially applicable in relation to other judgments made by those courts against citizens of all EU member states, whether those judgments relate to property in the north or south of the island.

Dogger Bank

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received recommendations from the Joint National Conservation Council concerning the classification of Dogger Bank as a special area of conservation; and, if so, when they will respond to those recommendations.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Defra has received recommendations from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) proposing Dogger Bank as a special area of conservation. Defra is considering the recommendations in discussion with JNCC and plans to commence a formal consultation on the proposals in November 2009.

Dogger Bank

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of the Netherlands and Germany concerning the approach to conservation of the Dogger Bank.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Defra officials and our statutory nature conservation body, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, have discussed with the Netherlands and Germany the scientific evidence and boundaries supporting the designation of Dogger Bank as a special area of conservation on a number of occasions.

Education (Schools Premises) Regulations 1999

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the consultation on the proposed changes to the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 will be published.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will determine the proposed changes to the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the membership of the Schools Capital Consultative Group.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Schools Capital Consultative Group did not fully review the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the recommendations from meetings of the Schools Capital Consultative Group are made available to the general public.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: We aim to begin consultation in June on specific proposals for changes to the requirements in the regulations relating to kitchen and dining facilities, and to make decisions on the results of that consultation in the autumn.
	The Schools Capital Consultative Group comprises representatives from a local authority, Catholic Education Service, National Governors Association, Church of England's National Society, Education Building and Development Officers Group, National Association of Head Teachers, Foundation and Aided Schools National Association, Association of School and College Leaders, Association of Directors of Children's Services, 4Ps, Local Government Association, National Middle Schools' Forum, National Association of School Business Management, National Governors' Association, National College of School Leadership, British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), Partnerships for Schools. The group provides advice to officials on capital and school buildings-related issues; it considered a range of issues and options in relation to the school premises regulations in order to help reach a decision on the way ahead. Because the group's advice is in order to inform policy, the discussions are not published.

Education: Health and Safety Diploma

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a diploma in health and safety to the curriculum for 14 to 19 year-olds.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: We have no plans to introduce a formal qualification in health and safety. Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education already offers opportunities for children and young people to learn key concepts such as: how to use knowledge and understanding to make informed choices about safety, health and well-being; how to find information and support from a variety of places; and how to assess and manage the element of risk in personal choices and situations.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 10 February (WA 176), 23 March (WA 93) and 5 May (WA 96), why the inspection report for Guy's Hospital (dated 2 April 2008) stated that outgrowing embryos "are disaggregated before 14 days regardless of culture morphology" if they lack the 3D organisation of an embryo and any relationship between extra embryonic and embryonic tissue essential for normal development.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 10 February (WA 176), 23 March (WA 93) and 5 May (WA 96), why the inspection report for Oxford Fertility Centre (dated 16 September 2008) stated that whole embryos are cultured on feeders for no longer than six days before cutting out any outgrowths that may appear, if an embryo cultured for longer than 14 days lacks the 3D organisation of an embryo and any relationship between extra embryonic and embryonic tissue essential for normal development, and would not develop a primitive streak.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 22 July 2008 (WA 244—45) and 5 May 2009 (WA 96), why St Mary's Manchester and Roslin Cells Limited were not included among the centres for which inspection reports are publicly available that provide details on the culture of outgrowing embryos.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has informed me that it monitors the use of embryos in research as part of its inspection process. A licence condition requires centres to ensure that a sample of all stem cell lines, from embryos that are developed or used in the course of the research project, must be deposited in a stem cell bank in accordance with any relevant bank guidelines. This is why the culture of these cells is something that may be reflected in inspection reports.
	My Answers of 22 July 2008 (WA 244-45) and 5 May 2009 (WA 96) referred only to the latest inspection reports published on the HFEA's website. The HFEA has informed me that the report of the inspection at St Mary's Hospital, dated 26 September 2007, was not included because the derivation of stem cells did not take place on these premises.
	Embryos were transferred to Roslin Cells Limited where the derivation of stem cell lines took place.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the comments by Lord Darzi of Denham on 29 October 2008 (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 1615), whether continuance of a licence granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is conditional upon pursuing aims as understood by the HFEA's peer reviewers, or whether a licence would be discontinued if such aims formerly considered to require the use of human embryos could be readily achieved by other means.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) may only issue a research licence for the purposes outlined in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001. A licence committee of the HFEA would refuse a research licence application if it was not satisfied that the proposed research was necessary or desirable for one of the prescribed purposes and that the use of an embryo was necessary.
	The HFEA has advised me that this requirement is integral to the decisions of its research licence committee when it considers research licence applications, inspection reports and progress reports.

Energy: Heating

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government with reference to the review by the National Audit Office of the data collected by the Building Research Establishment and published in March 2007 by the Sustainable Development Commission, why prisons in 2005—06 used over 75 per cent of their energy for heating; and what steps they have taken to reduce energy used by prisons for heating.

Lord Bach: Prisons use energy as a normal part of their mandate to keep in custody those committed by the courts.
	Since 2005-06, Her Majesty's Prison Service has implemented various measures at different sites to reduce energy use in prisons. These include cavity wall insulation, building management systems upgrade, automatic lighting controls, boiler controls and voltage optimisation. Her Majesty's Prison Service has contracted the help of the Carbon Trust to undertake an estate-wide systematic programme of identifying the most cost-effective opportunities for saving energy and putting in place a governance structure to deliver effective carbon management.

Energy: Light Bulbs

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to developers concerning the use of three-pronged bayonet bulbs in new houses and the issuing of information about them to potential purchasers.

Baroness Andrews: Guidance in the Building Regulations Approved Document for Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) for new homes calls for a proportion of fixed light fittings that can only take low-energy lamps to be installed as reasonable provision. No particular make or style of light fitting is specified.
	It is also a requirement under Part L that the owner of a building should be provided with sufficient information about the fixed building services (lighting, heating, ventilation systems etc) and their maintenance requirements so that the building can be operated in such a manner as to use no more fuel and power than is reasonable in the circumstances.
	We shall shortly be consulting on proposed revisions to Part L, which will include revised guidance on low-energy lighting to take into account developments in the lighting market, particularly the phasing out of tungsten filament lamps resulting from an EU regulation under the energy-using products directive.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the number of loans and total amount of lending under the enterprise finance guarantee scheme in each English region or country in the United Kingdom in which the business borrower is based.

Baroness Vadera: As of 13 May 2009, over 3,300 businesses have been registered as eligible for support, with a potential lending value of over £375 million.
	We are comparing each region's share of EFG lending against their share of registered businesses in 2007. A table is attached giving the regional breakdown.
	
		
			 Regional and country share of businesses and EFG loans offered 
			  Businesses at the start of 20071 EFG loans as at 13.05.2009 
			 UK 100% 100% 
			 North East 2.9% 3.7% 
			 North West 9.5% 11.0% 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 7.5% 5.8% 
			 East Midlands 7.0% 6.5% 
			 West Midlands 8.0% 9.9% 
			 East of England 11.0% 13.0% 
			 London 16.2% 11.6% 
			 South East 15.8% 15.1% 
			 South West 8.9% 11.0% 
			 England 86.8% 87.6% 
			 Wales 4.2% 5.5% 
			 Scotland 6.2% 6.4% 
			 Northern Ireland 2.8% 0.4% 
		
	
	1. Data from Small and Medium Enterprise Statistics for the UK and Regions 2007.

Equal Pay: Government Departments

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government what pay gaps there are in respect of gender, race and disability among employees of the Department of Health.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department conducted an equal pay review examining pay gaps by grade, gender, race and disability and this will be published internally in June 2009. In the mean time, the overall gender pay gap for the department and its agencies is available at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/CivilService_tables_2008.xls
	The overall pay gap given in the Civil Service Statistics is not relevant in the context of equal pay legislation as it does not compare like-for-like work.
	The gender pay gap reduces significantly when examined by grade.

Equal Pay: Government Departments

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government what pay gaps there are in respect of gender, race and disability among employees of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: Information on pay in respect of gender in the department is available from the Civil Service Statistics tables (Table 27) at www.statistics.gov. uk/downloads/theme_labour/CivilService_tables_2008.xls.
	Information on pay in respect of race and disability among employees in the department is not available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Information on earnings under race and disability in the Civil Service can be viewed in Table 25 (median earnings by ethnicity) and 26 (median earnings by disability) in Civil Service Statistics.

Equal Pay: Government Departments

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a gender pay gap in the Department of Health; if so, what is the percentage difference; and what are the reasons for the difference.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department conducted an equal pay review examining pay gaps by grade, gender, race and disability and this will be published internally in June 2009. In the mean time, the overall gender pay gap for the department and its agencies is available at www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_ labour/CivilService_tables_2008.xls.
	The overall pay gap given in the Civil Service statistics is not relevant in the context of equal pay legislation as it does not compare like-for-like work.
	The gender pay gap reduces significantly when examined by grade.

European Commission: Minutes of Meetings

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make available to members of both Houses of Parliament the minutes of meetings of the European Commission.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not receive minutes of all European Commission meetings. It is for the European Commission to decide what it does with internal records of meetings attended by its officials. The Government recognise the need for officials to have space for original thought, and it is not our policy to seek publication of such documents. Access to such documents can be sought through the regulation 1049/01 on access to documents of the EU institutions.

European Commission: Minutes of Meetings

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the European Commission keeps and publishes minutes of all its meetings; and, if not, whether they will seek to persuade it to do so.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The European Commission does not publish internal records of meetings attended by its officials. The Government recognise the need for officials to have space for original thought, and it is not our policy to seek publication of such documents. Access to such documents can be sought through the regulation 1049/01 on access to documents of the EU institutions.

European Commission: Minutes of Meetings

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they receive minutes of all European Commission meetings; and, if so, whether they will publish them.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not receive minutes of all European Commission meetings. It is for the European Commission to decide what it does with internal records of meetings attended by its officials. The Government recognise the need for officials to have space for original thought, and it is not our policy to seek publication of such documents. Access to such documents can be sought through the regulation 1049/01 on access to documents of the EU institutions.

Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Thornton on 20 April (WA 335), what are the 12 specialist clinics in the National Health Service that treat women and girls who have been mutilated.

Lord Darzi of Denham: There are over 14 specialist clinics in the National Health Service that have trained and culturally sensitive staff who offer a range of healthcare services for women and girls who have undergone female genital mutilation, including reversal surgery (deinfibulation). Services are confidential and clinics are open to women to attend without referral from their own doctor.

Government Departments: Bottled Water

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much Communities and Local Government or its predecessors spent on bottled water in each of the past five years.

Baroness Andrews: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors incurred the following expenditure on the purchase of bottled water in each of the past five financial years:
	
		
			 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 
			 £12,735 £12,735 £14,150 £4,716 £0

Government Departments: Bottled Water

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform or its predecessors spent on bottled water in each of the past five years.

Lord Carter of Barnes: The department has not separately recorded expenditure on bottled water. Since 14 November 2007, the department has ceased to use bottled water.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Bramall: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Lord Tunnicliffe on 27 April (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 9), whether and on what dates invitations to the symposium held in the House of Lords on 24 March on the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee's inquiry into Gulf War Illnesses were received by Baroness Taylor of Bolton and the Under-Secretary of State for Veterans, Kevan Jones; and whether they now have copies of the information proffered by Lord Tyler in his supplementary question.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The Ministry of Defence was not represented at the symposium held in the House of Lords on 24 March. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Veterans received an invitation three days before the event was due to take place but was already committed to another long-standing engagement overseas. My own private office did not receive an invitation.

Health: Cancer

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they distinguish in public health terms between findings of "no evidence of risk" from cancer and "no clear association" with cancer.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The terms we have used to describe the findings of the reports of the systematic reviews of fluoridation issued by the University of York and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council seem inconsistent.
	In a statement available at: www.cochrane.org/docs/ebm.htm the Cochrane Collaboration defines evidence-based healthcare as "the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients or the delivery of health services. Current best evidence is up-to-date information from relevant, valid research about the effects of different forms of health care, the potential for harm from exposure to particular agents, the accuracy of diagnostic tests, and the predictive power of prognostic factors."
	The reports show the findings of the cancer studies were mixed, with small variations on either side of no effect. In this light, we agree a summative conclusion of "no clear association" is more appropriate.

Health: Drugs

The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that the procurement of antiretroviral drugs through the Global Fund and other mechanisms is streamlined and timely, and that there are no delays in the supply of the drugs.

Lord Tunnicliffe: The Department for International Development (DfID) is aware that some countries supported by the Global Fund are at risk from stock-outs of essential antiretroviral drugs. DfID officials have spoken to the fund's secretariat about this, including recently at the Global Fund's Executive Board (5-6 May 2009). Formally, the UK supported a resolution made at the board meeting which obliges the fund's secretariat to address this issue urgently, to report on whether its existing procedures are adequate, and to propose solutions which would minimise the risks of disruptions to treatment both in the short term and on an ongoing basis. In developing countries such as Zimbabwe, DfID is also assisting, where possible, in the provision of drugs while problems in Global Fund supported programmes are being addressed.

Health: Former UK Residents

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 27 April (WA 17), what payments for healthcare they have made in each of the past five years to the Republic of Ireland; what overpayments they have made and how they were miscalculated; whether the overpayments will be deducted in future years; and why data on payments prior to 2003 are not available.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Bilateral discussions with officials from the Republic of Ireland are ongoing therefore it is not possible to calculate whether payments the United Kingdom made in each of the past five years represented overpayments. Under the terms of the bilateral agreement, the UK made the following payments which are net of income offsets.
	
		
			 Year Payment to date 
			 2008 €100 million 
			 2007 €450 million 
			 2006 €360 million 
			 2005 €325 million 
			 2004 €302 million 
		
	
	The payment the UK made in 2007 was made on account and was the amount Irish officials signalled should be paid. The department's officials clearly indicated that this would likely be an overpayment and this message was acknowledged by Irish officials. Departmental analysis of the amounts the UK should pay, suggests the payment represented an overpayment of around €180m. Officials will ensure that any overpayments which are identified will result in the necessary financial adjustments. Data on payments prior to 2003 exist. However, it is currently archived and officials are in the process of accessing it, validating it and reformatting it.

Housing: Insurance

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to insurance companies on the inclusion, within standard policies, of insurance cover for households required by their local authority to accept one or more wheeled refuse bins for use in disposing of household rubbish.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: No such guidance has been issued by Her Majesty's Government.

Housing: Mortgage Support Scheme

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Baroness Andrews on 30 April (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 66), why a scheme designed to assist individual homeowners to avoid repossession of their houses is considered to have the potential to distort competition when it was open to all mortgage lenders to participate in it.

Baroness Andrews: Under the homeowners mortgage support scheme, the Government give a guarantee to lenders which would allow them to recover some of the interest payments that they would otherwise have to write off. This could be considered to give an economic advantage to lenders entering the scheme and strengthen the position of these lenders compared to that of competitors in other member states. The Government therefore notified the European Commission of the proposed state aid. The Commission approved the aid on 20 April 2009.

Housing: Mortgage Support Scheme

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the delay between the announcement of the mortgage support scheme and its approval by the European Commission.

Baroness Andrews: The Government's intention to introduce homeowners mortgage support was announced by the Prime Minister on 3 December 2008. It required a change in legislation which was made in the Banking Acts 2009. This department then worked with the lenders and money advice agencies to agree the detailed scheme design and to put in place training for advice agency staff. At the same time the Government asked the European Commission to look at the proposed scheme's compatibility with the EC treaty on state aid. The Commission's decision was received on 20 April and the scheme was open with the first lenders on 21 April 2009.

Identity Cards

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current estimated cost of introducing identity cards.

Lord West of Spithead: The National Identity Service Cost Report gives a breakdown of the estimated expenditure likely to be incurred on the identity cards scheme over the next 10 years. The latest report, published on 6 May 2009, gives an estimated cost of introducing identity cards and passports for the period from April 2009 to April 2019 of £4,945 million. It is expected that around 70 per cent of these costs will need to be incurred to issue more-secure passports, irrespective of the introduction of the identity cards scheme.
	The above estimates are gross costs and do not reflect income from fees and charges. Currently the costs of passport production are met from fee income. The future development of a fee strategy will set the parameters for income and thus the net costs of providing passports and identity cards.

Influenza Pandemic

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in building domestic capacity to respond to an influenza pandemic, as referred to in the national security strategy published in 2008; and whether they will place their national and regional plans in the Library of the House.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Since March 2008, when the national security strategy was published, the following key milestones have been delivered.
	Stockpiles of antivirals to cover 50 per cent of the population have been ordered and are now in place. Contracts have been signed for the development of the Flu Line which will ensure rapid deployment of antivirals to patients. Orders have been placed to increase the United Kingdom antiviral stockpile from 33.5 million to about 50 million, which would be enough to cover 80 per cent. of the population.
	On 14 May, the Government announced the signing of agreements with vaccine manufacturers for up to 90 million doses of a pre-pandemic vaccine based on the current H1N1 strain. The agreements could provide enough vaccine to protect the most vulnerable groups in our population before a pandemic is likely to arrive.
	We are on course to have sufficient antibiotic stocks to cover 31 per cent of the UK population (19.6 million courses) by the end of September 2009, with the stockpile reaching over 10 per cent. (6.3 million courses) by the end of May 2009.
	We have placed orders for 226 million additional facemasks and 34 million additional respirators, to be delivered over time, for the use of frontline health and social care staff.
	Significantly enhanced local planning is in place. Every National Health Service trust and local resilience forum (LRF) in England has validated pandemic specific plans in place. All LRF plans are available in the public domain, and can be accessed on the internet at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience/pandemicflu/plans/regional_plans.aspx.
	A suite of guidance documents have been published to aid planners in their preparations for an influenza pandemic. Most notably, guidance has been published on the management of excess deaths, school closures, the local response, the health response, infection control, the judicial system and a checklist to aid businesses in pandemic planning. These are available on the UK resilience website at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience/ pandemicflu/guidance.aspx.
	The Government launched their pandemic preparedness international strategy in November 2008. This strategy is the first of its kind and sets priorities for the UK Government's work with international organisations over the next three to five years. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Influenza Pandemic: Flu Line

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the concept of a National Flu Line was first proposed within government; what was the original planned completion date; what was the planned completion date in March 2009; and what additional costs were incurred in setting up the National Flu Line by May 2009.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The "Flu Line" was proposed in the National framework for responding to an influenza pandemic published in November 2007. The department's 2008-09 business plan also announced the intention to have the Flu Line in place by winter 2008. Copies of these documents have already been placed in the Library.
	In signing off this innovative system, the approvers had to be rigorous in their scrutiny to ensure that the system would be both practicable and offer value for money to the United Kingdom taxpayer, which led to some delays in signing the contract with British Telecom (BT).
	The contract for the development of the system was signed with BT in December 2008.
	We had expected the initial build of the system to be completed in May 2009, with the system accessible for this autumn. Despite the current swine flu outbreak, we are still working towards the system being available in the autumn.
	We are also continuing to work with BT and NHS Direct in developing an interim solution, the cost of which is not yet finalised.

Internet: Security

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 7 May (WA 143), what (a) funding, and (b) advice, the Home Office gives to the Internet Watch Foundation; what steps the Foundation has taken to minimise the amount of illegal content hosted in the United Kingdom that promotes violent extremism and terrorism; and what steps the Home Office or the Foundation are considering to enable the Foundation to minimise the amount of illegal content hosted in the United Kingdom that promotes violent extremism and terrorism.

Lord West of Spithead: The Internet Watch Foundation is a self-regulatory organisation, independent of government. It receives no funding from the Home Office or wider government.
	The foundation's remit is to minimise the availability of child abuse imagery hosted worldwide, criminally obscene content hosted in the UK and incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK. Material violating terrorism legislation does not fall into the remit, which the foundation does not currently intend to expand and over which the Home Office has no influence. The foundation's website does, however, direct members of the public to the police's anti-terrorist hotline to report terrorist material.
	Home Office officials have met representatives from the foundation to discuss lessons learnt from the foundation's experiences, particularly its excellent work to decrease significantly the amount of child abuse imagery hosted in the UK. Home Office officials are using this information in their on-going work to consider methods to restrict the amount of unlawful violent extremist and terrorist material hosted in the UK.

Iraq: Reconstruction and Development

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what tangible benefits have resulted from British official expenditure of some £744 million on reconstruction, development and aid to Iraq since 2003.

Lord Tunnicliffe: The benefits of the United Kingdom's development assistance to Iraq include:
	successful conclusion of 190 projects to reconstruct healthcare facilities and 400 projects to reconstruct education facilities;repair of 5,000 leaky water pipes, laying 200 km of pipes and clearing 7,000 septic tanks and 40 km of drains;refurbishment of Basra pumping station and a major reverse osmosis plant, enabling 1 million people to access clean water;connecting 65,000 households to electricity for the first time, and providing a further 240,000 households with an improved supply;building the capacity of Basra Provincial Council which has now managed over 800 development projects worth over $650 million since 2006; anddelivery of £180 million in humanitarian assistance to 4.8 million people displaced in Iraq and the region, enabling them to receive food, water, shelter medical care and protection.
	As we look forward, the United Kingdom's most recent priority has been to help Iraq attract investment. To this end we have:
	facilitated over 30 visits by international investors, leading to proposals worth over $10 billion;funded 1,000 small enterprises in southern Iraq to access credit to expand their businesses; andworked with the Ministry of Labour in Basra on a vocational training and employment programme for 500 young people.

Mental Health Hospitals

Earl Howe: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they commissioned an independent investigation into the failures of care which occurred at Broadmoor Hospital during 2004; what concerns prompted that investigation; and when the report of the investigation will be published.

Lord Darzi of Denham: National Health Service London commissioned an independent investigation in 2005 to investigate the care and treatment of patients PB and RL in Broadmoor Hospital and the circumstances of the fatal assault on RL by PB in 2004. It is for NHS London to decide when this investigation will be published.

Mental Health Hospitals

Earl Howe: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the report by the Healthcare Commission on standards of patient safety in West London Mental Health Trust will be published.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Care Quality Commission has taken over responsibility for the Healthcare Commission's report on patient safety in West London Mental Health Trust. It is for the Care Quality Commission to decide when this report will be published.

Mental Health Hospitals

Earl Howe: To ask Her Majesty's Government why West London Mental Health Trust was offered Foundation Trust equivalent status prior to the consideration of (a) the report of the independent investigation into failures at Broadmoor Hospital in 2004, and (b) the Healthcare Commission report on standards of patient safety in West London Mental Health Trust.

Lord Darzi of Denham: West London Mental Health Trust has not been offered foundation trust equivalent status. A foundation trust equivalent organisation will be a National Health Service trust responsible for delivering high secure services which has been assessed as meeting the same standards as a foundation trust. It will be an equivalent organisation rather than a foundation trust because the trust provides high secure services, over which Ministers will retain oversight and powers of direction. The provision of high secure services legally prevents these organisations from becoming actual foundation trusts.
	Before any trust can be granted this status, the trust will need to be approved by its strategic health authority to proceed to a rigorous assessment process. If it is then assessed as meeting the standards, a recommendation for approval will be made by an assessment panel to the Secretary of State for Health, who will make the final decision on whether it can become a foundation trust equivalent.

Mental Health Hospitals

Earl Howe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps will be taken to monitor standards of safety and patient care at Broadmoor Hospital in the light of the findings of the independent investigation of care at Broadmoor and from the report of the Healthcare Commission on standards of patient safety in West London Mental Health Trust; and who will take those steps, other than the management of the trust.

Lord Darzi of Denham: There are rigorous, ongoing performance management arrangements which apply to all high-secure services, including Broadmoor Hospital. These are set out in the document A framework for the performance management of high security hospitals. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	National Health Service London has specific performance management responsibilities in relation to Broadmoor. As part of these, it will continue to monitor safety and patient care, and will work with the department and the trust to ensure that all necessary steps are taken in relation to the findings of the investigation of care at Broadmoor, and the Healthcare Commission (now Care Quality Commission) report into patient safety at West London Mental Health Trust.
	High-secure services, including performance management arrangements, are also subject to overview by the National Oversight Group which reports to Ministers, and services are also reviewed by the Care Quality Commission.

Minimum Wage

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will amend the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 to protect the employment rights of foreign domestic workers living in the houses of their employers without paying for board and lodging after being admitted to the United Kingdom for the purpose of work.

Lord Carter of Barnes: Most workers working legally in the UK are entitled to receive the national minimum wage. There are exemptions to the payment of the national minimum wage and one of these relates to workers who are not members of their employer's family but who live in his/her family home, share in the work and leisure activities of his/her household and are not charged for food or accommodation. This exemption is commonly known as the "people living and working within the family" exemption. Whether it applies to any particular foreign domestic worker will depend on individual circumstances.

Minimum Wage

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received complaints from domestic workers employed by foreign diplomats in London concerning failures to pay the national minimum wage; if so, how many; and over what period.

Lord Carter of Barnes: This department has received one such complaint, which is currently being dealt with on our behalf by HM Revenue and Customs.

Minimum Wage

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose remedies for domestic workers employed by foreign diplomats who have not been paid the national minimum wage; and, if so, whether such remedies will include the right to change employers within the same category of work.

Lord Carter of Barnes: The national minimum wage helpline on 0845 6000 678 provides information about the national minimum wage to both employers and workers. Any workers who believe that they have not been paid in line with minimum wage requirements can contact the helpline for assistance and, if appropriate, make a complaint—anonymously, if they wish—against their employer. Workers also have the right make their own claim to an employment tribunal.
	The Government are working with key stakeholders to consider whether private servants in diplomatic households should be able to change employer to work for someone outside of the mission at which they are employed.

Muslim Organisations

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 7 May (WA 145), how much funding (a) the Department for Communities and Local Government, (b) each of its agencies, and (c) non-departmental public bodies, have given to (1) the British Muslim Forum, and (2) the Dudley Muslim Association, in each of the past five years.

Baroness Andrews: The British Muslim Forum has received the following funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government in each of the past five years:
	2004-05—£0;
	2005-06—£0;
	2006-07—£115,100;
	2007-08—£194,200; and
	2008-09—£0.
	Dudley Muslim Association has received the following funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government in each of the past five years:
	2004-05—£0;
	2005-06—£0;
	2006-07—£47,000;
	2007-08—£29,500; and
	2008-09—£0.
	Neither of these two groups has received funding from any of the department's agencies or non-departmental public bodies during the past five years.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 28 February 2008 (WA 135) and 3 July 2008 (WA 49), what progress has been made in identifying barriers to full implementation of the February 2004 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines; and what is the percentage of centres licensed to provide assisted reproduction treatments which now offer NHS provision of three in vitro fertilisation cycles to all infertile couples.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Primary care trusts are making good progress in commissioning fertility services. The expert group on commissioning National Health Service infertility provision, which we established in 2008, has identified that increasing awareness of the consequences of infertility, and developing the expertise of commissioners, will contribute to further progress in this area of health provision. The expert group is producing a commissioning guide to address these issues.
	We do not collect information centrally about the number of licensed centres providing fertility services for NHS patients.

NHS: Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme

Lord Lewis of Newnham: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Baroness Thornton on 25 June 2008 (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 1427), when the evaluation of the effectiveness of the revised Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme will be undertaken; and whether the results will be published.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The evaluation of the revised Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme was planned for early 2009-10 but has been rescheduled to take place in autumn 2009. This is to enable the impact of recent changes to the payment by results (PbR) tariff in relation to the scheme to be assessed as part of the review. It has not been decided whether the results will be published.

Olympic Games 2012

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 23 April (WA 12), how many people are employed by the Government Olympic Executive; in what capacity; to whom they report; and what is the annual cost to public funds.

Lord Davies of Oldham: There are currently 91.9 full- time equivalent people (including secondees, interims and agency staff) working in the Government Olympic Executive (GOE), all of whom report through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for the Olympics. All GOE staff work in one of five teams:
	The build and finance team, which is responsible for ensuring that the delivery of the Games infrastructure and venues remains on time, and that the programme remains on budget and provides value for money;The staging team, which is responsible for the range of government commitments and legislative changes necessary to host the world's largest sporting event, and for assurance of LOCOG's plans and finances in the Government's role as funder of last resort;The legacy team, which is responsible for ensuring that the Government's ambitious legacy commitments are delivered, including getting two million people more active, transforming the heart of east London and inspiring a generation of young people; The operations team, which is responsible for helping the 2012 stakeholders to oversee the Olympic project, identifying risks and issues across organisations, for providing the Secretariat to the Olympic Board and for doing all we can to be fully accountable to Parliament and the public; andA small communications team, which is responsible for working across government to ensure events and activities are co-ordinated to avoid duplication and wasted resource.
	In 2008-09, the GOE's pay bill, including employer's pensions and national insurance contributions, totalled £6.944 million.

Post Office: Shares

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to give employees access to ownership of shares in the Post Office.

Lord Carter of Barnes: Royal Mail employees already have a share in the success of the company and a stake in its transformation through the existing phantom share scheme, ColleagueShare. This runs from 2007 to 2012 and includes for each worker up to £1,600 in profit-related bonuses payable over the life of the plan (half of which has already been paid), plus up to £3,700 for the "capital" value of the shares payable between 2011 and 2012. We would wish to consider how successful it has been in incentivising the workforce and also discuss future incentive arrangements as part of the partnership process, before reaching a view on what is most appropriate and what best delivers value for money going forward.
	The Government tabled an amendment to the Postal Services Bill at Lords Report stage on the 11 May introducing a new clause which makes clear that the establishment of an employee share scheme is permissible under provisions in the Bill, provided that any such scheme does not breach the requirements of the Bill that Royal Mail remains publicly owned.

Railways: First Group plc

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government in respect of which financial year they agreed to pay £50 million to First Group plc; whether the payment covered only the First Great Western franchise; and what terms of the franchise agreement permitted that payment to be made.

Lord Adonis: The franchise agreement with First Great Western (FGW), modifying the national rail franchise terms, entitles FGW to revenue support from the second anniversary of the start date of 1 April 2006. The sums involved are commercially confidential.

Rural Payments Agency

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the Rural Payments Agency's income was spent on public relations in each year from 2005 to 2008; and what was the overall budget of the agency for each of those years.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Rural Payments Agency Communications Directorate, responsible for dealing with public relations, was established as a separate entity in November 2006. Unfortunately the data required to provide information for the 2006-07 financial year and earlier years are not held in a form that is easily accessible. As the extraction and collation of this data would require a considerable amount of work and incur an unacceptable cost an Answer cannot be provided.
	The figure shown below encompasses external public relations activity to raise awareness of RPA managed schemes, direct costs in media relations and agricultural shows during the 2007-08 financial year:
	£150,678.90.
	The agency's net running costs as published in the annual reports and accounts for each financial year from 2005 to 2008 is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial Year Net Running Costs 
			 2005-06 £235,723 million 
			 2006-07 £228,337 million 
			 2007-08 £241,716 million

Social Care: Companies

Lord Ashley of Stoke: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many care companies the Commission for Social Care Inspection closed down during its period of office.

Lord Darzi of Denham: I am informed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) had the power to cancel the registration of individual care services such as care homes, nursing homes and domiciliary care agencies. CSCI also had powers to cancel the registration of registered managers. CQC retains CSCI's powers of enforcement.
	Cancellation of registration is not necessarily equivalent to closing down a care company, as such providers may hold multiple registrations for individual services provided, or managers registered, in various locations.
	During its period of office, from 2004-05 to 2008-09, CSCI carried out 309 non-urgent and 28 urgent cancellations of registration.

Social Care: Inspectors

Lord Ashley of Stoke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what kind of training is required of social care inspectors.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The regulation of adult social care is now the responsibility of the new independent regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which took over from the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission on 1 April 2009.
	The training of inspectors is the responsibility of the CQC. The commission has advised that for a person to be recruited as a social care inspector, the CQC requires that a social work qualification be held (for example a Diploma in Social Work) or that they are a registered nurse (level 1 minimum). However, the commission may also recruit candidates with other qualifications such as an occupational therapy or a teaching qualification to the role of the inspector, if they have relevant experience.
	The commission is committed to providing experienced and well-trained staff and as such delivers an extensive programme to its inspectors on its Inspecting for Better Lives methodology, its systems and equality and diversity issues.

Swine Flu

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether immigration officials at Heathrow Airport are sufficiently protected from the risk of contracting swine flu from any incoming passengers from Mexico; and whether there are any plans to downgrade health facilities at that airport.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Based on the scientific evidence about influenza in general and swine flu in particular, the risk of transmission to immigration officials is extremely low. Health Protection Agency (HPA) guidance is that contacts of confirmed cases are at some risk if they were a household contact for more than an hour, or if close informal care was provided to the case.
	The HPA would not recommend any specific precautions for immigration officials other than the standard infection control procedures for all the population. Should any confirmed cases have had lengthy or particularly close contact with an immigration official, the HPA would arrange follow-up in line with its normal protocols and the guidance for businesses, which it jointly produced with this department. Copies of the HPA protocols and the guidance have been placed in the Library.
	The HPA is responsible for both health protection and medical inspection services at Heathrow Airport. It is currently reviewing how these are provided, and no decisions have been taken yet. In doing this it will wish to secure operational efficiency savings, and to use these to ensure that health protection services are strengthened.

Swine Flu

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what scientific evidence they based their purchase of face masks in response to the outbreak of swine flu; what type of face masks will be purchased; and at what cost.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Health Protection Agency produced a scientific evidence paper on this issue for the Scientific Advisory Group (now superseded by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Advisory Committee) in 2006-07. The evidence is still current and forms the basis for our current purchases for health and social care workers. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The department has placed orders for 226 million fluid repellent surgical masks for frontline health and social care workers and 34 million FFP3 respirators for healthcare workers only.
	In line with the recommended European standard EN 14683: 2005 Type IIR, the department is stockpiling fluid repellent surgical masks (FRSMs). All masks provide a splash protection to resist fluid ingress into the mouth/nose and contain a malleable noseband to provide a close fit across the bridge of the nose.
	While surgical masks are worn by health and social care workers for close patient contact (within one metre), the department has also purchased FFP3 respirators. A respirator provides a closer fit for the wearer and an element of filtration to protect a healthcare professional when carrying out specific procedures that have the potential to generate particles (such as intubation and bronchoscopy). Compliant with the European standard EN 149:2001, the department is stockpiling FFP3 respirators for healthcare workers.
	The projected costs (for the United Kingdom) are:
	facemasks £21 million; and
	respirators £62 million.

Swine Flu

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the cost of distributing swine flu information leaflets to every household in the United Kingdom; and whether they will place a copy of the leaflet in the Library of the House.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The cost of advertising and publicity activity across the United Kingdom on swine influenza, including the swine influenza information phone line, is approximately £7.9 million to date, including £3,451,100 for the household distribution of the leaflet. The cost of printing the leaflet was approximately £1,298,500.
	A copy of the swine flu leaflet has been placed in the Library.

Swine Flu: British Overseas Territories

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements have been made to supply the Overseas Territories, particularly those in the Caribbean, with anti-viral drugs to combat swine flu.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Officials across a number of government departments are urgently working together to see how the Overseas Territories can be best supported during the swine flu outbreak. This includes assessing what stocks of anti-viral drugs they hold and need. I will write to the noble Lord with our final response and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Terrorism Act

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) arrests, and (b) convictions, there have been under Section 58A(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000 since the commencement of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 in (1) the Greater London area, and (2) nationally.

Lord West of Spithead: The first official publication of Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes for GB was published by the Home Office on 13 May 2009. This covers the period between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2008. The information requested will be contained in future editions of the Statistical Bulletin on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes.

Terrorism Act: Section 44 Powers

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what use the police put information relating to a driver and his car when they stop a motorist under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000; and whether a person can decline to provide the police with such information if no explanation for the request is provided.

Lord West of Spithead: Information collected from a person stopped under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is used to provide data on the use of Section 44 for statistical bulletins issued by the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
	A person stopped under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, does not have to provide their name, address or date of birth unless they are being reported for an offence. It is helpful if a person describes their ethnic origin when asked as this information is used to monitor the use of stop and search against different ethnic groups and encourages police accountability.

Terrorism Act: Section 44 Powers

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many authorisations and renewals under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 have been made since the commencement of that Act.

Lord West of Spithead: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost because the information is held on individual paper files. The onus is on police forces to authorise and seek confirmation from the Secretary of State to use the powers, and to keep records of applications made.

Terrorism Act: Section 44 Powers

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many authorisations and renewals under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 have been refused or ceased to have effect before authorisation.

Lord West of Spithead: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost because the information is held on individual paper files. The onus is on police forces to authorise and seek confirmation from the Secretary of State to use the powers, and to keep records of applications made.

Terrorism Act: Section 44 Powers

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police forces offer training and written information to officers on the use of powers under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Lord West of Spithead: All police forces applying for use of Section 44 powers must confirm that their officers have received appropriate training or briefing in the use of the legislation and understand the parameters of these powers.
	This is a requirement of the Section 44 authorisation process which is administered by the Home Office.

Terrorism Act: Section 44 Powers

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many authorisations and renewals under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 cover an entire police force area; and which areas they are.

Lord West of Spithead: The Home Office does not make the fact of the existence of an authorisation in any particular area public while it is running or for how long a particular force has had an authorisation. This includes the geographical extent of each of the authorisations. It is the responsibility of an ACPO rank officer in the relevant police forces to justify reasons for an authorisation to cover a whole force area or a designated area. It is open for the chief officer of the relevant police force to share this information where they think it is appropriate.

Terrorism Act: Section 44 Powers

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of applications for authorisation under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 included a community impact assessment; and, of those, what proportion included a consultation with local community representatives prior to authorisation.

Lord West of Spithead: A community impact assessment is completed by all forces prior to a Section 44 authorisation being confirmed. Forces need to consider whether it is appropriate to consult representatives of the local community in advance of authorising the powers. However, any decision not to consult with the community, due to operational reasons, should be fully explained and justified by the authorising officer.

Terrorism Act: Section 44 Powers

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times powers under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 have been authorised for fewer than 48 hours without ministerial confirmation.

Lord West of Spithead: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost because the information is held on individual paper files. The onus is on police forces to authorise and seek confirmation from the Secretary of State to use the powers, and to keep records of applications made.

Terrorism: Channel Project

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total cost of the police's Channel project since its inception.

Lord West of Spithead: Between April 2007 and the end of March 2009 the cost of Channel was approximately £1 million. The Home Office has allocated more than £2 million for Channel in 2009-10.

Terrorism: Control Orders

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were subject to control orders in each year since 2005; how much the Home Office spent on the accommodation and other living costs of individuals subject to control orders in each year since 2005; and what are the nationalities of those subject to control orders.

Lord West of Spithead: The Secretary of State reports to Parliament on the exercise of her powers under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 on a quarterly basis and additionally on an ad hoc basis if required.
	These reports include the number of individuals subject to a control order and the number who are British citizens. I refer the noble Baroness to these reports, dated 12 March 2009, 15 December 2008, 15 September 2008, 12 June 2008, 13 March 2008, 12 December 2007, 17 September 2007, 21 June 2007, 24 May 2007, 22 March 2007, 16 January 2007, 11 December 2006, 11 September 2006, 12 June 2006, 13 March 2006, 12 December 2005, 10 October 2005 and 16 June 2005.
	These reports give as much information as we can provide about the individuals given the national security sensitivities of these cases and the need to avoid publishing any information that could lead to the identification of an individual who is subject to an anonymity order. As of 10 March 2009, the last date covered by the most recent report, there were 17 control orders in force and only 40 individuals had ever been subject to a control order.

Terrorism: Internet

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 21 April (WA 394), what were the police forces where informal contact had resulted in removal of a range of material; what type of material was removed; and what action was taken against the individuals who uploaded the material.

Lord West of Spithead: In order to safeguard the effectiveness of informal working relationships with industry, we cannot disclose activity by specific police forces. Generally the policing lead for this issue, as with all operational terrorism-related matters, lies with the counter terrorism command at the Metropolitan Police Service.
	The range of terrorism-related material online that has been removed following contact with the police includes both material that would likely be unlawful under Sections 3(1) and 3(7) (taken together with Sections 3(8)) of the Terrorism Act 2006, and material that could be unlawful depending on the context of its dissemination and would likely contravene terms and conditions set out by the electronic service provider responsible.
	In one case an individual was subsequently convicted of a number of terrorism-related offences; other cases remain sub judice.

Terrorism: Internet

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 21 April (WA 394—95), how many (a) primary, and (b) secondary schools, are using filtering and monitoring software to restrict access to terrorist-related material on the internet.

Lord West of Spithead: Although comprehensive data are unavailable, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), the government agency leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning, assesses that most schools use filtering software that restricts access to harmful content, including violent extremist content.
	As many of these schools do not use a service accredited by Becta, Becta is working to increase use across the children's services sector of accredited services. This will provide even stronger protection, including against violent extremist content. This supports broader work by government through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, and following the recommendations of the Byron review, to encourage wider and effective use of filtering and monitoring software across schools.

Terrorism: Violent Extremists

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals are considered to be at risk of recruitment to violent extremism in the United Kingdom.

Lord West of Spithead: It is not possible to provide this statistical information. However, objective 3 of the PREVENT Strategy seeks to support individuals who are vulnerable to recruitment or radicalisation, and a number of priority programmes to achieve this build on existing multi-agency support mechanisms at a local level.

Terrorism: Violent Extremists

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider the threat from violent extremists who are United Kingdom citizens to be greater than that from foreign violent extremists.

Lord West of Spithead: The threat from violent extremism transcends national boundaries, and the threat to the UK and UK interests overseas from violent extremists is severe regardless of their country of origin. That is why our counterterrorism strategy (CONTEST) is both international and domestic in its focus.

Terrorism: Violent Extremists

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 5 May (WA 109—10), how many people were recruited by violent extremists in the United Kingdom in (a) 2001, (b) 2005, and (c) the last year for which figures are available.

Lord West of Spithead: These statistics are not collected.

Transport: Local Bus Travel

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether European Union legislation on passenger rights in international coach and bus services will apply to local bus travel within the United Kingdom; and what assessment they have made of the cost of implementing the legislation.

Lord Adonis: As currently drafted, the European Commission's proposal for a regulation on bus and coach passenger rights would apply to all regular services. Member states would be able to exempt urban, suburban and regional transport covered by public service contracts if such contracts provide a comparable level of passenger rights to that required in the proposed regulation. As the majority of services in the UK are not provided under public service contracts, the exemption would be discriminatory and of limited use. Negotiations are currently ongoing and it is too early to say whether the final proposal will include local bus services.
	The Government's consultation paper on the proposal included an initial impact assessment. The Department for Transport is currently revising this assessment in light of the consultation responses, but the cost of the regulation, which would be directly applicable, will very much depend on its final scope.

Transport: Pet Travel

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they plan under the Pet Travel Scheme to enable travellers with pets to use Eurostar.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: It is a commercial matter for each individual transport operator as to whether they wish to transport pets to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme. If they do wish to carry pets under the scheme, they have to meet certain obligations to ensure the animals meet all UK entry rules on arrival in this country. If Eurostar wishes to carry pets other than assistance dogs, which it has carried under the scheme for a number of years, it can contact Animal Health to discuss and agree a service level agreement which would enable it to do so.

Uganda

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what human rights conditions they attach to their renewed assistance to the Government of Uganda, in view of the alleged use of detention and torture by its joint anti-terrorism task force.

Lord Tunnicliffe: The Department for International Development (DfID) and the Government of Uganda's 10-year development partnership agreement commits Uganda to the protection and respect for human rights as enshrined in all African and international human rights instruments agreed to by the Republic of Uganda.
	The alleged use of illegal detention and torture by the joint anti-terrorism task force has caused concern among development partners in Uganda. HMG have taken this up with senior Ministers of the Ugandan Government and underlined UK concern and the need for action to address the issue in a serious and substantive manner.

Uganda

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what aid conditions they attach to their renewed assistance to the Government of Uganda, in view of their lack of progress in the reconstruction of northern Uganda and in the political participation of the Acholi people.

Lord Tunnicliffe: The reconstruction of northern Uganda is a key priority of the Government of Uganda. Parliamentary Under-secretary of State Ivan Lewis visited Uganda in February and underlined our concern to President Museveni of the need for urgent progress on the implementation of the three-year, US$600 million peace recovery and development plan (PRDP). Specifically, that the Government of Uganda must make real their commitment to fund 30 per cent of the total PRDP costs. Our understanding is that funds will begin to flow at the start of the Ugandan financial year in July 2009.
	While we attach no specific conditions relating to the north as part of our overall development programme to Uganda, we will continue to press donor partners and other international organisations to urgently prioritise recovery and longer term development in the north and to ensure that the PRDP is fully funded.

Vehicles: Disposal

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 20 April (WA 377), whether they intend to introduce powers in England and Northern Ireland to seize and dispose of a vehicle without a valid MoT certificate; and whether they will consider introducing powers for the Police Service of Northern Ireland to wheel clamp, seize and dispose of vehicles being driven by an unlicensed driver, similar to those in England in Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Lord Adonis: We have no plans to introduce powers in England or Northern Ireland to make it possible to seize and dispose of vehicles which do not have a current MoT certificate.
	At present, unlike in Great Britain, there are no powers for the Police Service of Northern Ireland to wheel clamp, seize and dispose of vehicles being driven by an unlicensed driver. The introduction of such powers is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.